NaNo Update #1

Writing Song of the Day: "Half Alive" by Secondhand Serenade

So, we stole this idea from the awesome Katy Upperman. We had planned to give you all weekly updates on our NaNo novels but...well, we were doing ALL THE THINGS in addition to writing our NaNo novels. Since we both have crossed over the halfway point (woo hoo!), we felt this was a good time to let you all know how we're doing...

Pam's Update:

Progress (word count or a general status update): 26,404

Current Mood: Hungry. A bit overwhelmed. But, surprisingly, I still like my story.

Inspiration: Not a quote from anyone--but this is the first time during NaNo that I've written a story that I ACTUALLY believe that I'll return to and revise. In fact, I can't wait to start revising it!

Goals as of Today: I usually try to reach at least 2000 words, but I'm a little stuck. So tonight, I plot a little more and make up the word count over the weekend.

Recent Favorite NaNo WIP Bit:

“I see you didn’t have to go far for your costume.” I tug at his basketball jersey. I actually tug it. I guess a beer and a half does wonders to my confidence.

Brandon shrugs. “Lots of kids want to be basketball players when they grow up.”

“Lots of kids want to be Brandon Lane when they grow up,” I correct.

Non-NaNo News (because life DOES go on): Well, Quita and I had the AWESOME opportunity of seeing one of our favorite actors, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, in person (more on that next week)! In less exciting news, I injured my foot in an accident last month, and it's still bugging me. Alas, I have to report to the doctor next week to see what's going on. Boo.
  
In my downtime (ha!) I’m reading: I've been starting and abandoning lots of novels lately--with hopes that I can return to them once I get some extra time (because THAT will happen). I most recently cracked open Ellen Hopkins' adult novel, Triangles. So good so far!!  

Quita's Update:  

Progress (word count or a general status update): Over 26K

Current Mood: Agitated that I can’t just write and instead must be responsible. However, I am also getting excited about where my novel is going.

Inspiration: Two words: Five Guys.

Goals as of Today: I want to try and get at least 4k done by the end of this weekend.

Recent Favorite NaNo-WiP Bit:

“What do you know about voices?”

Walker tapped his chin. “Like cartoon voices? I’m pretty sure I know who talks Bart Simpson.”

Kenzie laughed. “No…like, voices, voices.”

Walker stopped walking and stared at Kenzie. “Like, voices in your head and sh*t? Like schizophrenia?”

Kenzie continued to walk, already regretting that she said anything to Walker.

Non-NaNo News (because life DOES go on): We just saw JGL LIVE last night. Also, I’m working on finding more internship opportunities in the publishing world.

In My Downtime (ha!) I'm Reading: Rage Within (Dark Inside # 2) by Jeyn Roberts. Proving to be just as good as the first book!

Both of Our Updates:

You should read this blog post: Shady Business by the uber smart literary agent, Sarah LaPolla. A very informative look at the legitimacy of newer agents and publishers.

Gratuitous Photograph (because we love ‘em!):

Joseph Gordon-Levitt at The National in Richmond, VA (11/15/12)
The moment where Quita lost it & cried...

For all of our fellow NaNo-ers out there, how are you doing? For the non NaNo-ers, what have you all been up to?

End of Watch: The Buddy Story

Soundtrack Song of the Day: "You're My Best Friend" by Queen

We love writing and reading YA more than most things in life, but one of the things that comes close to our love for all things YA is watching movies and TV. Sooo, we've decided to combine those loves on this blog. Every Monday we are going to share a recent movie that we've viewed and what we learned about writing from said film.** 

Picture Taken From IMDB

End of Watch

Logistics: Starring Jake Gyllenhaal, Michael Pena, Anna Kendrick, and America Ferrera

IMDB Says: Two young officers are marked for death after confiscating a small cache of money and firearms from the members of a notorious cartel, during a routine traffic stop.

We Say: End of Watch is about two young officers and their friendship. The viewer gets to see their relationship play out as they deal with life, the trials of being a cop, and the joys of having someone you can rely on.

Writing Connection

The Buddy Story = Giving your novel heart. This is especially true for middle grade novels (which we are getting more and more into lately). In MG novels, the buddy connection is like the romance/love connection in a YA novel. Think back to when you were in 6th grade. Friends were EVERYTHING! And as much as we like to think we grow up and stop caring about what others think about us, we all still want to feel that buddy/friendship connection with someone. That's the heart of End of Watch. Yes, there's action, romance, a kickass plot--but underneath it all, it's about the friendship between two guys. Adding this connection in your novel will kick up the emotional factor that much more and keep your readers hooked.

Links:

End of Watch- Official Site
End of Watch-IMDB
End of Watch- Facebook

Now Watch This:

Have you seen End of Watch? How often do you place close attention to the friendships and how they grow/falter in your MG or YA novels?

**This blog is not limited to ONLY discussing the relationships of movies and writing, however this will be the weekly feature that you can ALWAYS expect.

Looper and Layering Plots

Soundtrack Song of the Day: "Have Love Will Travel" by the Black Keys

Taken From: Screenrant

We won't pretend that we were not on a looooong hiatus, but we also don't want to bore you with the details of WHY we've been away. We'd much rather discuss the future of this blog--which we hope will interest you much more!

We love writing and reading YA more than most things in life, but one of the things that comes close to our love for all things YA is watching movies and TV. Sooo, we've decided to combine those loves on this blog. Every Monday we are going to share a recent movie that we've viewed and what we learned about writing from said film.**

This week we begin with:

LOOPER

Logistics:

Starring: Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Bruce Willis, Emily Blunt, Jeff Daniels

IMDB Says: In 2074, when the mob wants to get rid of someone, the target is sent 30 years into the past, where a hired gun awaits. Someone like Joe, who one day learns the mob wants to 'close the loop' by transporting back Joe's future self.

We Say: The movie is full of bad-assery. From JGL, to Bruce Willis, even to Emily Blunt. The trailers and the interviews will make you think that you'll get bogged down in the sci-fi-ness of it all, but no--the heart of the story is what gets you in the end.

Writing Connection: 

Layering Plots- A novel will not survive on one plot alone. If that's all you got, you may be better off penning a short story or a novella. More importantly, a YA novel will not survive with one plot. Teens are complicated, puzzling, and always changing--a YA novel should follow suit. Without giving away too many details, the various plot twists and turns that occur in Looper will keep you intrigued, engaged, and in tune with the characters. The movie begins with a possibly unlikable character who has one goal and then progresses to include more characters with even more goals that cause complications and forces the character to change. This  = layering plots!

Okay we don't want to spoil it for everyone, so if you haven't seen it yet, go watch Looper and see how it's done!

Links:

Looper- Official Movie Site
Looper- Tumblr
Looper-IMDB
JGL Twitter
Looper Movie Twitter

Now Watch This:




If you have seen Looper did you make any connections with the film and writing? Do your novels usually have several plots?

**This blog is not limited to ONLY discussing the relationships of movies and writing, however this will be the weekly feature that you can ALWAYS expect.

MAY I Tell You Something About...Um, US?

Revealing Song of the Day: "Swagger Like Us" by M.I.A ft. Jay-z, Kanye West, and T.I.

Throughout May, we will be participating in the Blog Me MAYbe blogfest, which you can learn more about here. 

It's Tuesday. And according to this blogfest that means today is all about us. Meaning, we have to talk about ourselves. If you know anything about us, we kinda don't enjoy doing this. I don't think most writers do. That's why we create characters and new worlds, to escape from who we are. But, alas, we've joined the blogfest and we vow to follow the rules. Lucky for us, a new bloggy pal of ours tagged us awhile back. Rachel tagged us in a game of 11 questions. This is a good way to tell you something about us!

1. What are the top three books in your TBR pile?

Pam: Insurgent by Veronica Roth, City of Lost Souls by Cassandra Clare, and When You Were Mine by Rebecca Serle

Quita: Insurgent by Veronica Roth, Deadlocked by Charlaine Harris , and 

2. Who is your top book boyfriend, dare I say husband?

Pam:  Hmm, tough one. I get book crushes like ALL the time. Right now, I'm leaning toward Cricket from Lola and the Boy Next Door. He's so adorkable (wait...do people still say that?)!

Quita: Hands down Cole from Maggie Stiefvater's Linger and Forever. Hmm, maybe not hands down b/c I loves me some Four from Veronica Roth's Divergent. Can I have a tie?

3. If you could have written any YA book in history, which book would you choose and why?

Pam:  Goodness, another toughie. Right now, I'm leaning toward anything written by Courtney Summers, Steve Brezenoff, or Ellen Hopkins. They're geniuses!

Quita: Omigod. So. Many. Of. Them! I can't choose just one. There are FIVE that really stand out. I really wish I wrote Divergent, The Miseducation of Cameron Post by Emily M. Danforth, Liar by Justine Larbalestier, Recovery Road by Blake Nelson, and What I Saw and How I Lied by Judy Blundell (sorry if I cheated).

4. If you could live the life of any book heroine, who would you choose and why?

Pam:  I have a feeling that Quita's going to agree with me, but any book written by Stephanie Perkins. She has a way of making her girls so relatable--and she brings setting to LIFE! I want to live in Paris for the first half of the year, and San Francisco for the second. :)

Quita: I don't envy the lives of most of the heroines from the books that I read, and since I'm one of the last people on the planet to have read Stephanie Perkins' Lola and the Boy Next Door, I'd have to say Anna from Anna and the French Kiss. I mean, who wouldn't want to go to Paris for school and fall in love with a sexy, smart English boy?

5. Choose one: your book is a literary masterpiece with tons of critical acclaim but very, very lacklustre sales, or your book is a blockbuster of a novel with millions upon millions of copies sold but others question its quality and it is nearly universally bashed in the writing community, a la Twilight. There's no in between choice (Nice try!)

Pam:  Yikes! No clue. On the one hand, I wouldn't mind the money that books like Twilight would bring (being able to actually make a living from writing? Yes please!). But also, I would love for my colleagues to actually, you know, respect me. I choose John Green! His books are successful AND well loved by critics. Wait, is that cheating?

Quita: That's just not fair! I don't know, sometimes me and Pam both get a little over the bashing of novels like Twilight. Just because it's not a literary masterpiece doesn't mean it's not a good book and that it didn't do wonders for the YA community. So, yeah, I'd go for a book like Twilight because it changed so many people's lives and it had a huge impact on our community.

6. If you could have a super power of any literary hero/heroine, which would you choose and why?

Pam:  Umm, next question please. (*is clueless*)

Quita: This is a hard one. I don't really want super powers at all, but if I had to choose (from a book that I've read) I'd choose Briony's power from Franny Billingsley's Chime. Not sure why--could be because it was such an awesome book. I don't want to explain too much, cause then I'd give away the book for those who haven't read it.

 7. You're stranded on a desert island with just one other person. For life. It's a fellow author. Who is the author and why?

Pam:  I'd go with my cuz, Quita. She's already familiar with my weird habits, and I hers. But hopefully we'd get rescued soon because we'd like...attack each other after the third or fourth day.

Quita: It would obviously be Pam. Not like I wouldn't want to be with any of my other fellow writers, but of course I'd bring my cuz and other half b/c she might keep me sane for a day or two on the desert island. Then we'd probably kill each other...

8. You're forced to re-live one day of your life over and over again for eternity. Which day would you choose and why?

Pam:  This is strange that this is one of the toughest questions. I've yet to experience the really "happy" moments--such as getting married or having a baby. It would probably be some moment with my family--or maybe when I found out that Sarah wanted to represent me. :)

Quita: Wow...this is a great question. I find it kind of sad to admit that I haven't had many days that I'd like to re-live. If I had to choose one it would be the last time I was out with my dad (and the rest of the fam), having a good time dancing. 

9. If you could be invisible for one day, what would you do with your time?

Pam:  READ!! And WRITE!! Due to the day job, I have so little time for doing two of the things I love the most. And maybe peek in on some hunky celebs. Wait, is that weird...?

Quita: I would read and write all day with no interruptions. I'd also stalk the BLEEP out of Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Alex Pettyfer, Channing Tatum, and all the rest :D

10. If you had to be reincarnated into an animal, which would you choose and why?

Pam:  Um, eww. Next question please...

Quita: Ugh. I hate animals--well except my dog, of course :) I guess I would choose an ape or a monkey because at least they have opposable thumbs.

11. If you had to rename yourself, which name would you choose? And if you have a pen name, it doesn't count! Pick again.

Pam:  It feels like I've answered this before...I think I said Nadine Hunt or Nadine Shelton. Nadine's my middle name (which I despise, so I'm not sure why I'd use it), Hunt's my mother's maiden name, and Shelton's my dad's first name. Or maybe I'd just call myself John Green. :)

Quita: I would name myself Sherie (my middle name Sha-ree) Hunt. It's a little easier than my "government" name and it will fit better on a book spine!

So, the way this is supposed to work is that we tag more of you to play along. However, we thought we'd cheat a lil' bit (why stop now?) and open this up to ALL of you! Go ahead and play...if you dare. *insert maniacal laughter here*

We're Back...and in FULL EFFECT!

Social Networking Song of the Day: "LOL :)" by Trey Songz

You read that title right. We're here and ready to stomp all over social media.  Not only are we back and ready to take the interwebz by storm, but we also are ready to hold another contest! I mean, we did cross 300 followers a while back.

We're no contest virgins, but this time we wanted to offer a prize that's a little different--we are going to give out, TWO, count them, TWO query critiques! Wanna know more??? Watch the following video:

Yep, you heard us right (that is if you could understand my words through all of my mumbling). My agent, Jennie Goloboy, and the owner of Red Sofa Literary Agency, Dawn Frederick, are BOTH willing to critique two query letters. Pretty awesome, right?

And if that's not enough, we are going to throw one more prize in there--just for kicks. This isn't mentioned in the video, but for those of you who are already agented, how would you like a TEN DOLLAR gift card to Barnes & Noble. We just keep making your life better, huh? All you have to do is fill out the form below and show us a lil' love on our social media takeover scheme. Not hard. At all. Oh, and make sure you enter before Sunday March 18th, 8 PM EST!

'Kay? Thanks, bye!

Like Barack Obama Said...It's Time for Change

Blogging Song of the Day: "Change (In the House of Flies)" by Deftones

Yes, we realize we've been MIA lately--Pam's been a little under the weather (by under the weather, I mean her face has been literally GREEN) and I have been playing nurse and trying to keep up with the thousands of other things to do.

With that being said, we realized some things. While cutting out TV, and trying to set aside at least an hour a day to revise, we noticed that we had to squeeze in time to blog, too. And, well, revising and writing are just a smidgen more important than blogging at the moment. SO, we've come to the conclusion that we are going to blog only when we have something to say. No more schedule for us. And when we come back, we're gonna freshen things up a bit with some vlogs every now and then. We know, you can't wait to see our lovely mugs!





Alright then, friends. We'll be around when we want you to know what is on our mind..and of course you can still find us on Twitter and YOUR blogs.

Love your bloggy cousins,

Pam and Quita

** This blog post in no shape or form condones POTUS Barack Obama...we just thought that was a pretty snazzy title :D**

Free Friday: Shall I Compare Thee...

Reading Song of the Day: "Nothing Compares To You" by Sinead O'Conner

It's hard out there for a writer. No, I'm not just channeling the infamous rap lyrics from Terrence Howard's critically acclaimed movie, Hustle and Flow. I'm talking about competitive book titles. Like Pam discussed last Wednesday, there are always books out there that seem similar to your idea...and when you're trying to sell your book you need to know what your competition is.

And that's where I'm at with my book, In Limbo, right now. My awesome agent, Jennie Goloboy, and I are trying to come up with books to compare to my 1918 interracial love story/adventure novel. Who knew that the search would be so hard? So far, I've come up with the following books as comparable titles:






Laurie Halse Anderson's Fever, 1793 (for the epidemic element)












Karen Hesse's A Time of Angels (it's also about the Spanish Influenza in 1918)

Anna Godberson's Bright Young Things (because it's about two teenagers who leave home in search of something more)


But the major thing that these books are missing is a black female protagonist. Hmmm, isn't this a problem that we've been hearing/talking about for a while now in the YA field? I have Pam to thank (my Alpha reader) for giving me this unique edge to my novel b/c, as I've said before, SJ was once white. Since I made that change, it has made it very hard to find a comparable book that is very close to the premise of In Limbo--which is a good thing, but when you're trying to fill in the competition section of your Book Proposal, it's a little frustrating.

With that being said, do you guys think you can help me out? Know of any YA historicals that have a black female protag who falls for a white boy??

RTW: Words With Friends

Writing Song of the Day: "More Than Words" by Frankie J

Wednesday: I used to HATE spelling this word in elementary school. I would never get it right. But now, I'm cool with it. Mainly because it means it's Road Trip Wednesday day with the ladies of YA Highway. And guess what we're talking about this week: WORDS!

The Highway-ers wanna know:

What words do you absolutely hate? Which ones do you adore?

As writers,  of course there are several words we adore! As of late these have been our favorites:

Now on to the hate, here are a couple of words that we cannot stand to say/hear:

What about you? What words do you absolutely love and hate?

Free Friday: The Movie We WISH We Created

Viewing Song of the Day: "Movies" by Alien Ant Farm

Another Free Friday post, you guys! That means two things: 1.) The weekend is among us, and 2.) At midnight we can FINALLY get The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 1 on DVD...

But before I begin my swoon fest over Mr. Pattinson, we want to share with you the movie that has been on our mind ever since we saw it last weekend--that movie would be Chronicle.

Our review? Here it is in a just a few, simple words:

GET OFF YOUR A** AND GO SEE IT!

This movie is amazing. Full of all of the wonderful things that makes a movie work: good story, great characters that the viewer can relate to, a villain that you love and understand, an unlikely hero, visual goodies, action, and heart. I mean, what more can you ask for?

Chronicle had us excited and envious at the same time. Days after watching it we can't stop repeating: Man, we wish we wrote this story!!!

So, for those of you who have not seen this masterpiece, check out a clip below.

Oh, and this weekend we may be seeing The Vow. Why? Two words: Channing. Tatum. 'Nuff said :)

What are your plans this weekend? Hope you have seeing Chronicle high on that list!

Free Friday: No Name Calling Week and CRACKED by KM Walton

Reading Song of the Day: "Skyscraper" by Demi Lovato

Confession: I feel guilty about two things. First, that I gave this post an incredibly wordy title. And second, that Quita and I failed to mention an important event last week. You see, January 23-27 was No Name-Calling Week, an event aimed at middle schoolers that encourages them to refrain from tossing insults at each other.

It's rare that I collide my day job onto the blog, but I felt this one was worth mentioning. In honor of No Name-Calling Week, my students created their own inspiring poetry that I read over the morning announcements. Also, I asked them all to sign a No Name-Calling Week Pledge. Granted, not every student HAD to sign, so I was pretty impressed by the outcome:



During the week, I also finally read Cracked by KM Walton (which was on my 2012 Debut Author Challenge list), a story told in dual POVs--from the bully and his victim. Yes, KM's my agent-sister (Team LaPolla rules!), but NO, I'm not recommending this book because I'm biased. I'm saying you should read this book:

Because it gives you an uncensored view of bullying and high school

Because it doesn't condescend to the readers and stuff your face with morals

Because it makes you empathize for the victim AND the bully

Because despite all of the heartache, it'll leave you with hope

And in perfect timing, I just won a grant in which I'll be able to buy MORE books for my school that'll take on bullying headfirst. In addition to Cracked, here are some other books that I'm considering:

• The Misfits by James Howe (the main inspiration for No Name-Calling Week)



• Some Girls Are by Courtney Summers



• Before I Fall by Lauren Oliver



• Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher



• Story of a Girl Sara Zarr



• Everybody Sees the Ants by AS King



• Dear Bully edited by Megan Kelley Hall and Carrie Jones

What about you all? Read any powerful books about bullying? Has a book ever helped you out of a bad situation?

What the BLEEP is a Book Proposal???

Writing Song of the Day: "One Step Closer" by Linkin Park

Hey! You guys remember this post? The one where I was so excited that I got an agent? I was ready to delve into the next step. Getting published! I  mean, that's every writer's goal, right? We want someone besides our family and friends to read our words and love them. And believe me, after you write the book, there's so. Much. More. Work. To do.

Hence the title of this post. After I got my lovely agent, Jennie Goloboy of Red Sofa Literary, I was so excited to sit back and wait for her to sell my book. But then I asked, what do we do next? And I got this response: Well, now we get some historians to check the historical validity (okay, that makes perfect sense), and then you need to start working on the book proposal.

My response: HUH? What even GOES in a book proposal? And do I HAVE to write it??? I mean, that's a nonfiction thing, right? RIGHT? Please say, right!

Well, it turns out--no, it is not just a nonfiction thing. And my agency prefers for their fiction writers to pen a book proposal, as well. They feel as if this will persuade the editor to want your book even more.

So, back to the question at hand. What IS a book proposal??? Jennie directed me to the book, Write the Perfect Book Proposal by Jeff Herman and Deborah Levine Herman,  to help me figure this out. From flipping through this book and visiting various sites, I found out there are a couple of key elements that need to go into a book proposal.

Elements:

Overview: I pretty much used my query letter--just spruced it up some.
Author Bio: Speaks for itself :D
Competition: Find books that publishers may be able to compare your book to. Then tell why your book would fly off the shelves.
Promotion: How will you promote your novel? Editors like to know that you're going to put in some leg work to sale your novel as well. So, what kind of print media can you use to your advantage? What about online media, giveaways/contests, conferences, and appearances. Think about all of the ways that you can help sale your book.
Synopsis: We all work on these at some point when we're writing our novels, anyway. I used the same one that I worked on for a year and changed a bit of it.

I know, right? After I read that, I looked like this:

Then I figured. What the hell? I'll just go for it and see where it takes me. After I finished the first draft and sent it off to Jennie, I got a revised version from Jennie and Dawn Frederick (owner of Red Sofa Literary Agency). And then I looked like this:

But then I sat down and spent two days working on revisions and I think it's A LOT better. Now I feel like this:

And my draft is in the capable hands of my agent. Now, I wait and see if there's anything else to change.
I have to say, after I finished two drafts of my book proposal, it's not as bad as it sounds. Sure, it's a lot of work, but it's also a good way to show that you know your novel like the back of your hand, and also that you are willing to work on the "business" side of the publishing world as well as the creative. Even if you do not have an agent yet, I'd say it wouldn't hurt to do your own mini version of a book proposal. That way if you choose an agency that has their authors do book proposals-- you're already one step ahead!

Say What?

Reading Song of the Day: "Say It To Me Now" by Glen Hansard

Wednesday. Middle of the week. Road Trip Wednesday with the ladies of YA Highway. All the best things. Today they want us to:

Write a dialogue between two of your favorite YA characters.

So. Hard.

This would have been fun if we had the energy to come up with this post in more time than one day. We're running on fumes that are not quite creative...so, instead, we're gonna show you what most dialogue in YA novels consists of:

First: Conflict

Second: Conflict solved...people are happy for awhile. Alas, not for long...

Third: More conflict and we're left waiting for the next book OR dreaming up a happy ending. Unless, of course the book is by Stephanie Perkins or John Green AKA Masters of Delicious Dialogue!

 So, this is what happens when our brains can't function. We promise to be more creative next time! What do you guys think dialogue in YA novels is like?

Blog Remix

Blogging Song of the Day: "A Change Gonna Come" by Sam Cooke

This post is a lil' late today b/c we're kinda scrambling for time. You all know how that goes. Anyway...we wanted to let you know that our blog is going to get a re-do. Not the look of the blog, we know that's already pretty badass, instead we're changing our blogging schedule and what we talk about. Mainly because we've noticed a decline in comments/views of our book review posts. Because of that we're gonna blog only on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday and our topics will fall under the following umbrellas:

Monday: Writing/Reading Tips and Thoughts: In which we share our latest thoughts on writing topics, trends, and tips. We will also discuss books that we're DYING to share with you, let you know how we're doing with our Debut Author Challenge goals, and we'll throw in any publishing news that we may want to share.

Wednesday: YA Highway Road Trip fun: We will participate with the ladies at YA Highway (as we have been) and go road tripping every Wednesday :D

Friday: FREE FRIDAY: It's a free for all, you guys! But not that free...here's an idea of what we might discuss--movies we're planning to see, books we're planning to read, writing ideas we're planning to try, music we're grooving to (we might even share a playlist or two), and anything that's on our minds.

What do you all think? Digging the new schedule? Can't tell the difference? Have something you think we should add to the schedule? We'd love your thoughts and input!

Guest Post: Susan Dennard Gets Messy

Writing Song of the Day: "A Beautiful Mess" by Jason Mraz

Today we welcome Susan Dennard, author of the 2012 debut,  Something Strange & Deadly.  This week the WOA girls are all promoting this awesome debut novel. And of course, giving YOU a chance to read the novel before it's release date. So, read on and find out about Susan's writing process!

My writing process is…well…messy.

Initially, I spew out complete and utter drivel, my fingers flying over the keyboard faster than my brain can even process. And then, after about 3-4 weeks of this, I crash. I’m usually halfway or three quarters of the way finished with the first draft when I  hit this metldown-point, and I’ve usually just reached the notorious MY-BOOK-IS-TOTAL-CRAP stage.

Next step? Despair. Cue Bridget Jones singing “All By Myself”.

Yep. Sounds silly, but it’s true. I spend the next few days alternating between despair (This book is so, so, so bad needs a complete rewrite. WAAAAAH!) and determination (A rewrite never killed anyone, right? You can do it, Sooz! YOU CAN DO IT.).

Ultimately, determination wins (helped along iby its close frenemy: The Deadline). I print out the whole book, get my writing tools out, and then read the ENTIRE thing in one sitting. Actually, if you want a detailed look at how I revise, you can head here.

This reading/planning stage usually takes a few days. Once I’ve got the Book I Actually Wrote solidly analyzed and thePerfect Book (a.k.a. the Story I Actually Want To Tell) all figured out, I dig into rewriting.

Rewriting is a HUGE part of my process. As I talk about here, I don’t always know the whole story. I know the main plot, but I uncover all those delicious subplots and side threads while I’m writing the first draft (or second…or third…). I know the ending (roughly), but I have NO CLUE how all the subplots and side threads will weave together into a SMASH-BANG ending packed full of resonance.

For example, when I was writing the sequel to Something Strange & Deadly (titled A Darkness Strange & Lovely), I wrote the first two thirds of the book in 3 weeks. I spent the next few weeks revising (and researching in Paris!)...and then I reached the end of my revised two thirds and stopped again. I revised those first two thirds AGAIN...only to peter out and stop AGAIN.

My problem was that I had no idea how to get my character from Point A to Point B. I'd sold the book based on a synopsis, and it was easy enough to say, "Eleanor goes with the Spirit-Hunters into the Parisian catacombs." But actually GETTING her there? Actually giving her a plausible reason to take that as the next step--and more importantly, to have her do so while keeping the tension and excitement high?

Cue Bridget Jones singing "All By Myself".

As I said here, I rewrote the beginning a few times...then revised it...then attempted an ending (that was TERRIBLE)...and then re-wrote said ending two more times.

Finally--FINALLY--I settled on an ending that was The One. It came out in a flurry of words that were mostly usable since I finally KNEW what needed to happen --since I was finally writing the Perfect Book.

I turned in A Darkness Strange & Lovely on December 15--a little less than 5 months after starting.  It went through two critique partners and my agent before I handed it over to my editor, and by golly, I'm PROUD of what I wrote!

The moral of the story is that ultimately, my “writing” process involves a heck of a lot of “rewriting” because I'm not a particularly good writer...but boy am I one helluva a good REwriter. ;)

So don't despair when your own writing seems bad--you can always, ALWAYS revise it to perfection. DREAM BIG AND NEVER GIVE UP!

Susan's Bio:

Susan is a reader, writer, lover of animals, and eater of cookies. She used to be a marine biologist, but now she writes novels. And not novels about fish either, but novels about kick-butt heroines and swoon-worthy rogues (she really likes swoon-worthy rogues). She lives in Germany with her French husband and Irish setter, and you can learn more about her crazy thoughts and crippling cookie-addiction on twitter, facebook, or Goodreads. Her debut, Something Strange and Deadly, will be available from HarperCollins in July of 2012, and you will never believe how happy this makes her!

Check out Holly's review.


Here's Erinn's review.


AND here's an interview Kat had with Susan about what happens AFTER you get published.


Tomorrow's your last chance! Be sure to check out Alicia's blog for her post and to enter for your turn with this amazing ARC :D AND of course, don't forget to sign up below!!! 


P.S.: If you can't see the sign up thingy, click on Read More and then it pops up :) Thanks!

A Writer's Guide to A Day Off

Writing Song of the Day: "The Lazy Song" by Bruno Mars

Yesterday was MLK day and not only is it a day to celebrate the legacy of a wonderful man, but it was also time that we got to stay home from the day jobs. Which made us think: How SHOULD a writer spend an entire day off from their day job?

Notice the word "SHOULD". We actually spent our day at the dentist, working on stuff for part time jobs, and driving around Virginia Beach/Norfolk, VA. If we had our way though, these are the top five things (in no particular order) that we would've done with our day off:

1.) Sleep: You can never get enough of this. And sometimes, writers get a lot of ideas from their dreams. *coughs* Wants *coughs*

2.) Play on Scrivener/Outline New WIP Ideas: Scrivener is full of amazing. And we're getting a lot of outlining done on new WIPs with this program. All we need is the time to actually use it more.

3.) Revise previous manuscripts: The work doesn't cease after getting an agent. We both have revisions to work on with In Limbo & Project J.


4.) Read: We're pretty sure this doesn't need an explanation.


5.) Watch TV/Listen to Music for Inspiration: Believe it or not, we get a lot of ideas from watching TV shows and movies. Also music helps us get into our characters' heads and allows their voices to come out on the page. It may seem like we're wasting time--but no matter what we're doing, we're always thinking like writers.



What do you think? Is there something else a writer should do when they have time off from the day job??


Psst...hey, you...yes, you. Make sure you stop by our blog Thursday January 19th. Susan Dennard is guest posting and you can enter for another chance to read her ARC of Something Strange and Deadly. Check out Holly's post from yesterday for more details!

When Opinion Crosses Into Bee-yatch Territory

Ranting Song of the Day: "Bitch" by Meredith Brooks

We've been hearing a lot around the interwebz about negative book reviews that are going too far. There are several cases on Goodreads.com that fall into this category. So, the question we wanna pose (and answer ourselves) is, how much of your opinion can you give about a book without feeling like you're being a bee-yatch?

So, let's say book X has just been released. You've been waiting and waiting for it to come on shelves. However, when you get it in your grubby lil' palms, you wanna throw it across the room. The characters lack personality, the story has no climax or rise and fall, the setting is barely described, and the entire thing is written in passive voice. You go to Goodreads, because you like to rate every book that you read. But you're stuck! How many stars do you give it??? Should you be honest and give it 1 (more like half a star if you could, and that half would just be because you liked the cover)? Or should you lie and give it 3 stars--just in case you're ever in a position where you become friends with this author and you want them to pimp your book? OR should you cross that line, give the book 0 stars and go on a five paragraph long rant of every. Single. Thing that was wrong with this book?

Our answer: Be honest, but not a bee-yatch. It's that simple.


That's not simple? Why not? Why do your friends on Goodreads have to know every single word of this book that you hated? You can just rate the book low and move on. A professional author should not take offense to low ratings, we all know reading is subjective. Not every person in the world is going to love our writing, and to be a writer, you have to have thick skin and accept this. BUT, a writer CAN take offense when the reader spends an hour of their day writing out details about why they hated the author's book. Why should the author take offense? Because, that reader's opinion may be different from John Doe. But John Doe reads that review and is put off from the book right away. Therefore, John Doe doesn't even have a chance to pick up the book and decide how he feels about it on his own.

And why else should you refrain from being a bee-yatch? Because no one likes a pissy person. Someone who CONSTANTLY writes long, ranty reviews online will never be the first person that a writer goes to when they are looking for book reviewers. And if you're a book blogger, well, you've just screwed yourself. If you're a fellow writer? You seem like a hater, and people will look even more closely at YOUR writing to make sure you're not doing the things you have so passionately dissed online.

Okay, so the moral to this long blog post? You can be honest without bringing out the claws. When you do, it makes  you look like an ass and people start to wonder: Don't you have other things in your life that are of a little more concern than author X's book with the awesome cover???

Your turn. We can be way off base here and we'd love to hear your opinion! Do you think bee-yatch-ness is EVER necessary when giving book reviews? How do you feel about giving negative reviews?

RTW: Come Sail Away With Us

Daydreaming Song of the Day: "Daydreamer" by Adele

It's Wednesday, AKA the best day of the week for daydreaming and completing a Road Trip post from YA Highway. Okay, maybe not the best day for daydreaming, but the topic this week makes us do just that. This week, the ladies are asking us:

Describe your dream writing retreat. Where would you go? Who and what would you bring?

Funny that this question is coming up right when we're considering taking a writing retreat in the summer. If we had things our way and didn't have to worry about money, this is what we'd do.

Where We'd Go:

Beautiful St. Croix in the US Virgin Islands (Close runner up: A quiet area--not desolate--but quiet, somewhere in Italy).

Who We'd Bring:

We'd bring, each other- DUH, also our lil' sis Racquel, our Weekend of Awesome pals, Alicia, Erinn, Kat, and Holly (not pictured), and our buddy Megan (also, not pictured). Hmm, we need some pics with these girls...

Racquel, Pam, Quita

 Erinn, Kat, Quita, Pam, Alicia

What We'd Bring:

   

iPads:  'Cause we're kinda obsessed with them. And also because they will be full of musical inspiration, novels to read (for the times we're stuck on what to write), and hopefully (by that time) the Scrivener App.

Netbooks/Flash Drives: For writing. Nuff said.

Moleskin Notebooks: For those moments that we need to jot down something we might forget later.

Novels: Actual ones that we can hold in our hands--because some novels MUST be held.

A Couple Writing Resource Books: Books like Fill-In-the-Blank Plotting by Linda George, Writing and Selling The Young Adult Novel by K.L. Going, and Cheryl Klein's Second Sight: An Editor's Talks on Writing, Revising, and Publishing Books for Children or Young Adults 

Forms of Lubrication (get your minds out of the gutter!): Lotion for Pam & Chapstick for Quita. Also Sun Tan Lotion--'cause ya know, sometimes we'll have to go on the lovely St. Croix beaches to relax before getting more writing done.

Colored Pens: If we're revising a printed draft.

Candy and snacks: To refuel and whatever other excuses we can think of to eat all the bad things.

And,um,some adult beverages: Hopefully these will be provided by the wonderful people at our luxurious Virgin Islands resort...for free.

Oh and we also wouldn't mind bringing a nice, smart (and HOT) island boy back home with us :D

What about you? Where would you go and what would you bring with you??